Dollface
by Mint-9
Summary: Sephiroth kidnaps Aerith wanting to turn her into his own living doll. He gives her anything she wants, but her freedom. As she becomes his courtesan others take notice of the General and his lovely lady, especially a young soldier who has fallen deeply in love and deeper yet in danger. SephirothxAerithxCloud.
1. Prologue

Aerith ran down the dusky street, fog rising from below clouded her view of where she was going. She had taken a wrong turn and ended up in this deserted alleyway. Someone was after her. It wasn't that she actually saw her attacker, but she just had the _sensation_ of being watched. She was selling her flowers, just as she always did in the evenings, but it had grown quiet and not seeing anyone pass by for at least half an hour she began to get worried, especially since Midgar was a busy city. When she couldn't shake the feeling as if she were prey being stalked by a carnivorous predator she began to run.

She was used to being chased, her whole life spent running from Shinra, but this was different and had a more eerie and sinister quality to it. She got a terribly bad vibe from it all and despite her usual calm and collected self, against all judgment that told her nothing was there and that it was just her imagination, she ran, wanting to get as far away from that feeling as possible. She grew up in the Slums and knew it was best to err on the side of caution.

Even if she could not see the menacing eyes watching her from the depths of this dark city, she knew, she just knew that they burned into her body - penetrating her down into her deepest crevasses, striking her far farther than her flesh but within her soul as well.

Her breath was short as she reached the end of the alley. Her heart then dropped as she realized that it was a dead end, nothing but a block wall before her. She stood still and stared at the wall, too afraid to turn around. _It's nothing_, she told herself, _you're going to turn around and then feel real silly about acting this way when there's nothing there_.

Steadying herself she took a deep breath in and turned around to face whatever it was head on. If she was cornered then she would have to fight, there was no other way out.

She stared in disbelief when she saw that there was nothing there. She thought that that would make her happy seeing that her fears were for naught, but it didn't help at all. Instead her fears intensified, because now the sense that she was being watched, or rather stalked, became more apparent now that she was trapped. "Who's there," she called out finding her voice. "Show yourself, you coward!"

There was a slight movement coming from her peripheral view. She whirled around and heard a rustling sound as she saw a flash of black. She yelped in horror and jumped back, her eyes straining to see through the darkness.

But it was just a flash and after that, nothing but eerie silence. She calmed herself down and began to walk toward where she saw the movement. "I know you're there," she gulped, "you can't fool me."

All of the sudden a door behind her burst open. She screamed and placed her hands over her head, cowering into a little ball at her feet. "Hahahaha!"

_Laughter_? She opened her eyes, and saw behind her two drunken men who had come out the back door of a bar. She felt real silly as they walked away and headed back down the alley toward the street. They were laughing and joking to one another about having the appearance that scared young girls. _Must be all right_, she thought, _if nothing's happened to them_.

She dusted herself off and stood up. The drunk's voices trailed down the alleyway. She had to laugh at herself, because never had she been happier to hear a blubbering bunch of drunks before. There then was a swooshing sound from above her head. She darted her eyes up to see what it was but it all happened so fast. Before her world went dark she saw glowing green eyes burrow wickedly into hers.


	2. Chapter 1

She dreamt that she was falling but her body never reached the ground. She just fell endlessly through the clouds unable to stop or do anything to change her situation. When she did land it was as if she had landed on a bed of clouds. She awoke with a startle. Her mind still half in the dream world and half awake. She clutched wildly at the fluffy clouds surrounding her and realized as her eyes began to focus, that they were in fact not clouds, but plush goose down filled pillows. She was on a bed in room of some sorts.

Slowly her senses came back to her. She took everything in one by one. First, she was in some sort of bedroom and not the alleyway she was in before. Second, she was not wearing the clothes she was before, but as she looked down at her attire she saw that she was wearing a soft cotton nightgown with frilly hems and collar. Third, she noticed as she stepped out of bed that this room did not look familiar. It looked like a room that had been taken from a dollhouse. Her bed was a white four-poster canopy bed with a cake icing like design all around it, and all of the furniture in the room matched the same design.

_Am I still dreaming_, she thought. _If not, how did I end up in a dollhouse_?

She tried the door. It was locked. She went to the window. Dawn was creeping up in the distance. She could see the sunrise, must mean that she was on the top plate, somewhere. _What happened_? The last thing she could remember doing was that she was running away from something that was after her, and the last memory she had was glowing pale green eyes. She involuntarily shuddered as she recalled them.

The door opened behind her and there was a girl standing in the doorway who was about her age or younger. She was dressed as a maid and had chin-length pink hair done in up curls. "I'm sorry to have startled you," she explained when Aerith jumped at her sudden presence in the room. "But I am here to help you get ready for breakfast."

"Breakfast?"

"Yes," the young woman said as she came forward, shutting (and locking) the door behind her. "You are to get washed and dressed for breakfast with the Master downstairs."

"Master?" Aerith asked, a little confused. "Oh," realization dawned on her. "You must mean the master of the house." _Someone must have found her and brought her here_.

The maid gave her a watery smile. "Yes, something like that."

The pink-haired girl walked up to her and bowed introducing herself. "My name is Peony, I will be your chambermaid. My sisters and I all work in this house, you will meet them in time, but first we have to get you ready for breakfast." She made a motion to the nightgown Aerith was wearing. "First we need to take this off."

Aerith waited for her to leave so she could get changed but 'Peony' just stood there giving her a big smile. "Here," the maid said, "I will help." She then stooped down the pick up the bottom of her ankle-length nightgown and the without warning pulled it over her head.

"Hey," Aerith gasped trying to cover her naked body. "I can do it myself!"

"Nonsense," the pink-hired girl replied. "It is my duty to get you washed and dressed for breakfast." _Washed_? "This way," she held out her hand as she walked to the back of the room and opened a door that was apparently a bathroom. Aerith felt wary of the whole situation but followed her nonetheless, besides the girl had pink hair, she looked innocent enough.

Aerith stood at the door feeling very uncomfortable because she was completely nude as the pink-haired girl drew her a bath. She poured lavender oil into the flowing water from a bottle on the side. Its smell carried throughout the room. The girl then turned off the water when the bath was filled with hot water and fragrant oil. "Get in," she demanded rather than asked.

Aerith sat inside the bath. The girl then started to scrub her arms with a sponge. "You don't have to worry. I can do it myself," Aerith told her. She grabbed the sponge but the pink-haired maid took it from her.

"I see you're going to make things difficult," she said as she stood up. She then took out a small hand-held wand from her pocket. Aerith stared down in horror as her arms acted on their own accord, she had lost control of her own body. Her arms washed and scrubbed her entire body, even between her toes, as Peony sat back and watched making sure every crevasse and nook was cleaned.

"What are you doing to me?" Aerith asked. _What kind of place was this_?

The maid gave her a scowl. "Maybe I should have used a silence spell as well." Her voice did not sound welcoming. When she was satisfactorily cleaned. The maid, using the same spell, made her get out of the tub and as she handed Aerith a plush white towel her hands (still under control) dried her body off. "Hear put this lotion on," the maid said as she handed her a bottle of milky white lotion.

"Why are you making me do this?" Aerith asked. It all seemed so bizarre.

"The Master is very … particular about his guests."

"Oh," Aerith sighed, _so strange_. "You don't have to do this. I will put the lotion on myself."

The maid eyed her cautiously and then decided to put away her wand. Aerith's body was back under her own control. It seemed like such a simple thing, but it felt so good to be in control of her body again.

"Come we shall get you dressed." Aerith was led to the wardrobe and dresser as the maid open up a drawer on top taking out simple white undergarments and a pair of white lace stockings. She then opened the wardrobe doors, riffling through the racks of dresses before deciding on one. She laid the dress out on the bed. "Put these on first," she said as she handed Aerith the undergarments.

"What about my own clothes?" Aerith asked.

"They were thrown out," the maid responded without flinching.

_But that was my favorite dress_. "I'd much rather have my own clothes," Aerith responded. She was getting a little miffed about her treatment here.

The pink-haired girl just sighed as if she was annoyed over Aerith's constant complaints. Which Aerith thought was legitimate enough given the situation. "They were," the maid searched for words, "dirty and ripped." She gave Aerith another watery smile. "We had to throw them out, Miss."

Aerith sat on the bed and put on the white cotton undergarments. They were not as plain as she thought they were at first glance and she saw that they were well made with good quality cotton and that they were also as soft as a lamb to the touch. The pink-haired girl lifted Aerith's leg without warning and started to slowly slip the lace stocking onto her leg. The lace was not hard and stiff at all but was soft and pliable. She did the same to Aerith's other leg and then fastened them to a lace garter and pulled the garter up to rest low on Aerith's hips.

"Stand up," the maid ordered once she had finished with the stockings. "You will need some assistance in getting into this dress." Aerith started at the thing. It looked like something a doll would wear. It had a white and light blue gingham pattern on the skirt; the top was white cotton eyelet. It also had capped sleeves, frilled hems and collar, little mother-of-pearl buttons on the blouse part, and a huge bright blue bow at the waist.

The maid took out a puffy underskirt that was hidden underneath the dress. "Step into it," she commanded as she held the puffed skirt at Aerith's ankles. Aerith did as she had been told.

_Maybe she was in a noble's home_? Aerith thought this as the maid slipped the skirt over her hips so that it sat high on her waist and then laced the corset-like back part of the skirt up. Aerith took in a sharp pang of air. She'd laced it up pretty tight.

That must be why there was this much fuss over her dress, because noble's had such complicated dressing habits. At least she hoped that this was the case.

The pink-haired maid then slowly and carefully slid the dress over Aerith's shoulders, over her chest and then and fluffed it out over her underskirt. The underskirt made the dress open up like a flower in full bloom.

The maid took a pair of bright blue heels out of the wardrobe bottom and put the on Aerith's feet one at a time. "Well," Aerith sighed in relief, "now that I'm dressed …"

"Oh, no," the maid exclaimed grabbing her wrist. "We're not done yet."

"We're not?"

The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes. She was really getting annoyed. "The Master cannot see you with hair like **that** and with no makeup on!" She then shuddered as if thinking about what would happen.

"Why should I care what the Master thinks?"

The maid glared at her, reaching for the wand in her pocket again. Aerith huffed. "Fine!" she exclaimed and then sat down at the vanity in a tizzy.

"That's good," the girl replied. She then started to brush Aerith's hair with a soft-bristled brush. She stopped at Aerith's side bangs. "Hm," she said examining them in her hand. "Actually, I think I'll leave these. They're cute enough." She put Aerith's hair up into a ponytail and fastened a blue bow around it, much like the way Aerith would normally style her hair but without the braid.

"Now for the makeup," the girl said as the looked at Aerith's face in the vanity mirror. "You have clear porcelain skin, of course, you would not be here …."

Aerith shot her a worried look from the mirror. _What did __**that**__ mean_?

The maid disregarded Aerith's curiosity and went along talking to herself. "So no powder or foundation," she giggled. "You're just making my job easy!" She then applied a ruby red lip-gloss to Aerith's lips and applied brown mascara to her lashes. "There," she exclaimed bouncing up and down. Aerith could tell that the girl had a bubbly personality … but no sense of humor.

"Voila!" She twirled Aerith around. "We are done."

Aerith looked at her self in the mirror as she stood up from the vanity. Her mouth opened in a slight gasp. She looked exactly like a doll. It was so eerie. The pink-haired girl directed her toward the door. "Stop gawking at yourself," she said. "We have to hurry if we are to be on time for breakfast. The Master will not like it if we are late."

_Ugh_, _the Master this_, _the Master that _… Aerith was getting tired of hearing about the Master.

The maid unlocked the door, and led her into the hallway. "You will get washed and dressed like this every morning before breakfast with the Master," the maid said as Aerith followed her down the hall.

"What do you mean every morning?" Aerith asked. _How many mornings was she going to spend here_! She felt fine and was more than able to go back home. "I'm fine really, I don't **need** to stay."

The maid disregarded her questions and kept walking. _Not very friendly around here_, Aerith noted.

If her bedroom was a dollhouse then the rest of the home (or mansion) was a coffin. It was very large and thoroughly cleaned but bleak and drab. The floors were black marble and the furniture was ultra-modern, black, sleek, and lacking the comforts of what a real home should have. There was nothing to decorate the walls, which were painted gray. Everything looked dead and lifeless. She immediately felt homesick for her own cozy cottage back in the Slums, and for her mother as well. She missed her already.

They walked down the wide stone staircase in which the only color in the mansion was placed, a long red rug that ran all the way to the bottom and almost to the doorway. At the impressive bolted black double doors that looked like vault doors, stood two women who were around her age as well. One had short red hair clipped closely to her face and the other had long dark blue hair, which she had parted so that it covered one eye. They were not dressed as maids but had stealthy black suits on and each had a katana at their hip. They stood there solemnly as if sentinels at a graveyard. But, Aerith had to wonder why they stood inside instead of out. Did they want to keep someone out or keep someone in? The thought unnerved her and it had been growing into creeping dread as this story became more and more strange as the morning went along.

They smiled as they saw Aerith reach the bottom of the stairs. Their smiles were not welcoming though. It gave her the creeps to be honest. "Peony," the redhead expressed with sinful delight. "You did a magnificent job. The Master will be pleased."

Peony just beamed. "Thanks, Rose."

"And so quickly," the blue-haired one then spoke. She had a sultry sounding voice, like the voices Aerith would hear coming from prostitutes in the Slums. "I thought that this little one was going to give you trouble."

"Yes, Orchid," Peony replied, "so did I, but I only had to use my Manipulate materia once!"

The two sentinel guards then started to laugh as Peony guided Aerith down a hallway to the right. Their laughter sounded like snakes hissing together.

_I certainly don't feel right about this_. 'Just get through breakfast,' Aerith told herself as she followed the pink-haired maid, 'say thank you to the master of the home and be on your way. No need to wear out your welcome.'

They reached the breakfast room, which was a smaller room in between the dining room and kitchen, near the back of the house. It took them some time to get there because the place was so big and expansive. Peony opened the door and ushered Aerith into the room where there was a wooden table with a lace tablecloth and on top delicate china set up for breakfast and tea. Also in the middle of the table was a glass vase filled with fresh picked flowers of all sorts and colors. This place looked more like her bedroom than the rest of the home.

Sitting at the table was a man with long silver hair dressed in all black. He was reading a newspaper. When he saw them enter the room he pursed his lips into a smile. Aerith stared dumbfounded at him as he turned to them showing her those same glowing green eyes.


End file.
